Farewell to Bush also farewell to kinder, gentler time
Powerful moments are still ahead as Americans, gathered around TV sets across the nation, wait to vicariously attend what’s sure to be an emotional funeral for George H.W. Bush, our 41st president, who died last week at 94.
Any time a son steps into a pulpit to say goodbye to his dad, as George W. Bush, our 43rd president, will do Wednesday morning, it’s riveting because it’s so real.
They loved each other long before either had an inkling of where life would take them.
But just as real will be a forlornness many viewers will feel, correctly sensing the senior Bush’s passing further closes the door on a time when America, faults notwithstanding, felt good about itself because it knew what it believed and why.
If you watched Monday’s coverage of the cortege’s arrival at the Capitol Rotunda, perhaps you, too, took note of the music, such as Martin Luther’s timeless anthem, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God,” written in the 1500s.
How refreshing it was that no one, not even the ACLU, found that inappropriate.
Or maybe you heard “America, the Beautiful” and thought of the young Navy pilot from Massachusetts who completed his hazardous mission, bombing a Japanese communications center before bailing from his burning plane and floating four hours in enemy-infested waters, awaiting rescue.
If you were listening perhaps you, too, felt a tug when the Naval Academy Glee Club sang, “O beautiful, for heroes proved in liberating strife, who more than self their country loved … “
A fellow World War II Navy man named Red Auerbach once noted, “I feel bad for kids today. When we were kids we had heroes; now kids have celebrities.”
Like most genuine heroes, Bush didn’t see himself that way. Indeed, he no doubt identified with Ted Williams, a peer and Marine Corps pilot, whom he honored in the Rose Garden in 1991, the 50th anniversary of Ted’s .406 season.
“Mr. President,” The Kid succinctly told him, “I’ve always known what a lucky guy I am. I was born an American, I served my country, and I got to play baseball.”
When Bush wished for “a kinder, gentler nation” it was more than campaign rhetoric. It was a clarion call for us to wash our hands of the meanness now permeating public life, knowing we can be better than this.
In mocking him, his critics reaffirmed how very right he was.
Like his kids, we’ve all lost a giant.
Bravo zulu, Mr. President. Well done!
May you know fair winds and following seas.